VISCA e-workshop: Discover how VISCA DSS supports viticulturists in climate change adaptation
(Registration is open)

Date: 29th October 2020
Time: 10:00 am -12:00 pm CET (2 hours)

Our consortium is pleased to invite you to 'VISCA e-workshop' to be held online on Thursday, 29th October 2020 from 10:00am-12:00 pm CET. The e-workshop aims to bring wine growers, agronomists, scientific community, commercial partners and others to discover the latest release of VISCA Decision Support System (DSS), its added value and how it supports viticulturists in adapting to climate change. Also, the commercial opportunities and the exploitation of the tool will be discussed.
VISCA e-workshop is expected to be interactive with feedback collection and Q&A sessions during presentations. Registration to the e-workshop is open until 28 October 2020 [click here]. After registration, the link to connect to the meeting will be sent. 

Agenda:

• Short introduction on VISCA project
• Presentation of the VISCA DSS (phenology, irrigation and weather forecasts information widgets) 
• Presentation of results achieved, key finding from the demonstration sites
• VISCA commercial strategy & opportunities
• Conclusions
  

VISCA DSS is integrating climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications in order to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change.

In the Irpinia Valley, located in south of Italy (about 60 km from Naples), a very warm winter influenced the precocity of the budbreak that occurred one week earlier than average. Also, blooming advanced earlier followed by a rainy month of June with some problems of downy mildew. However, with the predictions supplied by VISCA DSS, the Mastroberardino viticulture team was able to contain the disease by increasing the number of treatments sprays, anticipating the action as the prediction of several days of rainfall was given.

VISCA DSS showing that bud break and blooming have been achieved and earlier than normal (July 2020)

Blooming observed in the field - Italian Demo Site (July 2020)

This summer, VISCA DSS, in particular the short-term and mid-term climate forecasts, has predicted lower precipitation than normal and higher temperature than normal in Mirabella Eclano estate in the Campania region, where our Italian demonstration site is located. Before the phenological phase of blooming, the DSS, through the seasonal forecast, predicted a dry and hotter summer than normal, followed by the months of September and October with the same trend. Aglianico is the grapevine under the VISCA experimental plot and it is extremely sensible to powdery mildew disease. The dry season usually influences the development of the fungus directly on the grapes. Therefore, such useful predictions allowed the Mastroberardino vinegrowers to take decisions about the canopy and vineyards management in advance. First of all they programmed:

Conclusions from the Decadal Projections Performance Report

Facing climate change and climate variability is one of the main challenges in viticulture. Developing strategic actions to adapt viticulture to the impacts of a warmer climate is one of the main interests of the sector, which has been suffering for changes in the quality and yield.

A report has recently been published by VISCA project ‘Decadal projection performance report (D2.5)’ which provides a set of regional climate projections at European scale and at demosites of the project (Campania region, Mirabella Eclano Estate (Mastroberardino-Italy), Costers del Segre region, Raimat hills (Codorniu- Spain),  Douro Valley, Porto (Symington-Portugal)). These projections would bring an added value for the wine industry to plan long-term adaptation strategies to face climate change and a new climate variability in the coming decades.

First of all, EURO-CORDEX climate projections have been analysed in terms of their ability to reproduce the historical climate. As a result, it has been confirmed that EURO-CORDEX is representing correctly the temporal and spatial correlation of the main interesting variables such as mean temperature and precipitation, climate extremes such as droughts, spring frosts and heatwaves and, finally, specific agronomical parameters such the Winkler index.

After that, the analysis of climate projections at European scale and at demosites is providing by comparing the climatology off the period 2070-2099 against the historical period 1976-2005. In terms of precipitation, a decrease in the southern European countries, which is more intense in the summer months. In terms of temperature, there is a clear increase throughout Europe, although it is more intense in southern countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and in norther countries like Sweden and Finland. Regarding extreme events, there is an increase of the length of droughts, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, a decrease of frost days in spring months and an increase of heatwaves, especially in the southern European countries.

VISCA project has published recently 3 new public deliverables related to the analysis of climate projections at the European scale and particularly at the demosites of the project, report on a full year application of the CS-DSS and VISCA booklet presenting preliminary results.

You may download them below:

• VISCA_Deliverable 2.5: Decadal projection performance report
• VISCA_Deliverable 4.8: Second preliminary report between research teams (WP2), DSS developers and end-users on a full year application of the CS-DSS
• VISCA_Deliverable 5.5: Booklet on VISCA results (Draft)

A radio interview has been recently made by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF; English: Swiss Radio and Television) with VISCA consortium during the 3rd General Meeting and Stakeholder's Workshop. The interview discussed about climate change implications in vineyards and how our project is responding to these challenges and helping farmers adapt to climate change through providing climate services accessible via VISCA DSS.

You may listen to the interview by clicking on this link. VISCA interview starts in minute 40:40 (in German).

**SRF is a Swiss broadcasting company and one of the largest electronic media house of German-speaking Switzerland and has its main studios in Basel, Bern and Zürich.

The second issue of VISCA Newsletter is very special as it presents our Decision Support System which combines climate, phenology and irrigation services with several added values aiming to support viticulturists in climate change adaptation and daily operation. We’ve also launched the registration call to join our next workshop which will take place on 11th December 2019 in Barcelona.

Check it out here and subscribe to receive the next issue of our newsletter!

The 3^rd VISCA Stakeholders workshop will take place on 11th December 2019 in Barcelona. The event will present VISCA DSS where participants will get a free access to the tool. The event will host interesting exchanges and roundtables with the VISCA partners, Advisory Board members and external guests about the status-quo of climate services in the agriculture sector and the replicability opportunities in other vineyards as well as in olives and cereals. Check the agenda [link] and REGISTER to join us [link] either in Barcelona or online latest by December 5^th at noon!

We look forward to welcoming you in our workshop, don’t hesitate to transfer this call for registration or send us any inquiries you may have to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.